Speed Lettering After being purchased by the Rio Grande in 1988, the newly combined Rio Grande and Southern Pacific railroads retained the name of Southern Pacific but revamped the logo with a Rio Grande inspired font. This style of logo began appearing on locomotives in March 1991 and would soon end up on reworked engines from the Rio Grande Burnham shops in Denver and on any new units purchased after 1991. Freight cars, such as this auto rack, also began to carry this logo starting in 1993.